Traditional Muddy Buddies

Need a last minute sweet Super Bowl snack idea? Muddy Buddies (a.k.a "puppy chow") are about the quickest thing you can make and they are a no fail hit! It's been awhile since I have made traditional Muddy Buddies as I have been enjoying testing out other flavor combinations, but the traditional peanut butter and chocolate never gets old or boring and after making them I can say they are just as addicting as I remember them. Other recipes you will see call for less peanut butter and chocolate and honestly, I am not sure why. I think the amounts that I use are perfect and any less would not coat the cereal enough.

See below the recipe if you are interested in other muddy buddy flavors.

Traditional Muddy Buddies
How I Did It:

9 cups Rice Chex
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup + 1/8 cup milk chocolate chips
1/8 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup + 3 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

1. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter. Once they start to melt a bit, stir to speed up the process. Once melted, stir in the vanilla.

2. Dump 9 cups of Rice Chex cereal into a large bowl. Pour the melted chocolate mixture over the cereal and gently stir until all of the cereal is well coated.

3. Pour the powdered sugar over the chocolatey Chex and gently stir to coat.

4. Spread out the coated Chex on a long piece of parchment paper to dry.

5. Once dry store in an airtight container for up to a week (ha, like it would last that long)


Other types of Muddy Buddies worth trying:

• S'mores Muddy Buddies
• Andes Mints Muddy Buddies
• Harvest Muddy Buddies (Taking out the Halloween M&M's, I call this "Black and White Muddy Buddies"

Two Ingredient Nutella Brownies

I have been hearing so much about two ingredient Nutella brownies that I had to try them out. I had such high hopes! Well, the texture is perfect, but they are pretty low on flavor. They weren't eggy, they just didn't have that strong Nutella flavor I was expecting (hoping) for. I solved the issue by heating up some (more) Nutella and using it as frosting. I highly recommend doing that if you make these.

Two Ingredient Nutella Brownies
How I Did It

4 eggs
1 cup Nutella
1/4 cup Nutella (if you decide to frost them)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 (or 9x9) baking pan and then cover with parchment paper so some is hanging up over the top. Lightly grease the top of the parchment paper as well.

2. With an electric beater, whisk eggs until they are light, pale yellow, and billowy. I used the whisk attachment of a hand-held beater and it took 12 minutes. If you don't whisk them enough, your final product will have an eggy taste and will have an unpleasant texture.

3. While you are whisking your eggs, heat up your Nutella so it is smooth and creamy. Do not burn your Nutella! You should only need to microwave it for about a minute, but make sure to top every 20 seconds or so to stir.

4. With the mixer, slowly whisk in the Nutella in several parts. Scrap down the sides of the bowl a few times as you are whisking.

5. Pour "batter" into your prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes or until your cake tester comes out clean.

Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole

Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Enchilada Casserole 
How I Did It:

1/2 head cauliflower
1 orange pepper, chopped
1/2 can no sugar added corn
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground chili pepper
1 1/2 tsp cumin
2 tsp dried cilantro
ground black pepper
9 small corn tortillas
1 bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 jalapeno peppers, chopped (keep seeds for extra spice)
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large jar medium salsa


1. Preheat oven to 400. Place the first 5 ingredients (cauliflower, orange pepper, corn, onion, and garlic) on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle with pepper. Mix around a bit to make sure everything is covered and then spread the vegetables out so they are (mostly) not on top of each other.

2. Bake for about a half hour or until tender and just before they start to crisp up. You will want to stir them around once or twice.

3. Remove from oven (lower oven to 350) and let cool slightly.

4. In a bowl, combine roasted vegetables, jalapeno, black beans, chili pepper, cumin, and cilantro.

5. Cover the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking pan with salsa. Layer 3 tortillas on top and then cover with about 1/2 of the vegetable mixture and then cover with cheese. For the second layer of everything start with the tortilla, then the salsa, then the vegetable mixture and finally the cheese. Top with another layer of tortilla, salsa, and the remaining cheese. Sprinkle lightly with chili pepper and cumin.

6. Cover and bake for about 40 minutes, removing the aluminum foil after about 25 minutes.

7. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before digging in!

Chocolate Covered Banana Peanut Butter Bites

I have been wanting to make a simple treat for someone who loves banana and my first thought was adding a slice of banana to a homemade peanut butter cup. I still might try that, but while brainstorming I came up with this idea which is a bit healthier and much more banana focused. They came out as good as I had hoped (the mixing of the different chocolates and flavors really adds to it in my opinion) and were very easy to make. Freezing them thoroughly before dunking them in the chocolate is a necessary step though so make sure enough time is saved for that.

Chocolate Covered Banana Peanut Butter Bites
How I Did It:

2 ripe bananas
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/8 cup butterscotch chips
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Peel and slice your bananas. You won't need the 4 end pieces.

2. Scoop peanut butter on top of a slice of banana (be generous) and cover with another slice. Repeat for the remaining slices, matching up similiar sized pieces.

3. Place all "sandwiches" in a parchment paper lined container in the freezer. Freeze at least for a couple hours, if not overnight.

4. When the sandwiches are nice and frozen, pour your chocolate and butterscotch into a double boiler and heat. Stir occasionally to help melt. Once melted, stir in the vanilla extract.

5. One at a time , place a peanut butter banana sandwich into the melted chocolate. Once coated, carefully scoop out with a fork, letting some of the excess chocolate fall off. Place in a container lined with parchment paper. Repeat for remaining sandwiches, only take 2 out to work with at a time and leaving the rest frozen.

6. Once all of the sandwiches are coated in chocolate, cover the container and place back in the freezer until you are ready to enjoy!

All Corn Cornbread Muffins

When I was a kid I was never excited about cornbread until one day my mom made them in a muffin tin without a cupcake liner and the edges were crispy and delicious. Since then I have made many different types of cornbread including with corn bits, vegan and with spicy meat. These muffins were my first attempt at gluten-free cornbread. I was more than a little worried about how they would turn out, but they were pretty tasty! I prefer muffins and I decided to make these bite sized, so I used my mini-muffin tin. Look at that delicious streak of butter running through the top of the muffin! Definitely not vegan, but you could make them diary-free by using a butter substitute if you wanted. I just love diary with my corn muffins though, they compliment each other so well, but I did use almond milk instead of regular milk because that is what I had on hand.

All Corn Cornbread Muffins
How I Did It:

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp corn meal (not quick cooking)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk of choice
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled

1. Preheat oven to 450. Grease your mini muffin tins.

2. Whisk together cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, beat together egg, milk, honey, and melted butter.

4. Stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined.

5. Pour or spoon into the muffin tins. It will look like there is too much milk, but the cornmeal will absorb it as it cooks. Drop a small amount of water into any empty muffin tins and cook for about 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Let cool slighly, then run a knife around the edges to release. Best served warm (they re-heat well).

Quick and Delightfully Simple Peanut Butter Cookies

The easiest peanut butter cookie you will ever make. While I was posting about my quick and easy flourless and butterless peanut butter cookie, I got to thinking that I could make it even more simple. Well, I did it and they are amazing. Thanks to the peanut butter, they hold up well, but are moist and chewy to the point of almost being creamy. Can a cookie be creamy? I thought I would miss the chocolate, but they are just so good as is. If I added chocolate I might dunk half in melted chocolate - I wouldn't want to disrupt the wonderful texture that they have.

Quick and Delightfully Simple Peanut Butter Cookies
How I Did It:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp flaxseed meal
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 and prepare a baking sheet.

2. Place the flaxseed meal in a bowl with three tablespoons of warm water. Stir and then let sit for 5 full minutes (to gel up).

3. Pour the flaxseed egg into a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine.

4. Form into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on prepared baking sheet 1-2 inches apart (they only spread a moderate amount). Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake for about 10 minutes or until they are just starting to brown and still look under-cooked. Remove from oven and let cool before transferring.

Coconut Strawberry Cake

In keeping with the healthy coconut strawberry theme, I give you this addicting cake. This is one of those desserts that is healthy and still tastes really good. It's gluten-free, vegan, and sugar free (aside from natural sugars from the fruit of course), and very refreshing. If you like coconut and strawberry, you will like this easy to make cake!

Coconut Strawberry Cake

How I Did It:

4 tbsp coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled

1 cup almonds, soaked for a few hours in water

4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup pitted dates, soaked for a few hours in water

3 cups fresh strawberries

1. In a food processor, grind almonds until very fine.

2. To the processor, add 2 tbsp coconut oil, 2 cups coconut, and the dates and process until well combined.

3. Press evenly into the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking pan.

4. Clean out the processor and then place the remaining ingredients ( 2 tbsp coconut oil, 2 cups coconut, and the strawberries, reserving a few for the top if you'd like).

5. Pour the strawberry coconut mixture on top of the crust and even out with the back of a spoon. Slice strawberries in 3rds or 4th and place on top.

6. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight before serving.

Gluten-free and Sugar-Free Berry Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

It's easy to make a tasty cookie, it's not as easy to make a tasty cookie that is gluten-free, sugar-free (excluding fresh fruit), no unprocessed nuts/seeds, peanut-free, dairy-free, chocolate free, and full of flavor, but not too sweet (read: barely sweet). I was pretty proud to have come up with these cookies. I wasn't entirely sure how they would turn out, but even as a lover of sweets I enjoyed them.  They are basically a guilt-free cookie that you want to eat.They are dense - more like a bar and there is zero sweetener other than the strawberries and blueberries (which do add a nice amount of sweetness). I like to think of it as handheld oatmeal.

Berry Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
How I Did It:

1 3/4 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup raw almonds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp all spice
2 eggs
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup strawberries, chopped
1/4 cup wild blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Place almonds in a food processor and grind into a flour. Keeping the almond flour in the processor, add in 1/4 cup of the rolled oats and process that into a flour as well.

3. In a large bowl, combine the flour/almond mixture with the rest of the rolled oats, unsweeetened shredded coconut, salt, cinnamon, and all spice.

4. In a seperate bowl, mix together the eggs, coconut oil, vanilla until well combined.

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry along with the blueberries and strawberries. Make sure the the fruit is well distributed.

6. Form dough into balls and place onto cookie sheet and flatten. They will not expand or rise/flatten so shape them as you wish to serve them.

7. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown and the center looks dry.

Gluten-Free Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

In making gluten-free treats for other people, nothing is more obvious than some version of an oatmeal cookie. Of course, traditionally oatmeal cookies have flour in them, but it's easy enough to use oat flour instead. I got this recipe from the Vanilla Sugar Blog which always has creative and fun food creations. They didn't turn out crunchy for me at all...more crumbly. I took them out when the bottoms started to deeply brown, but I probably could have kept them baking for a bit longer to crisp up a bit more. They were very tasty though and the texture was fine, just not what I was looking for. It was somewhere between chewy and crunchy...not dry though. If I make them again I would try coconut oil instead of butter, flatten them a little more, and cook them longer.

Gluten-Free Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
How I Did It:

2 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. In a food processor, grind 1 cup of the oats into a flour.

3. Mix together the oat flour, rolled oats, coconut, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt until well combined. Set aside.

4. In a larger bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until light and fluff and then beat in the egg and vanilla.

5. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients to the wet, until not quite combined. Finish mixing with a spoon until just combined.

6. Roll rounded tablespoon sized chunks of dough into balls and place on the parchment papered or Silmat covered cookie sheet. Flatten the the balls down with the back of a spoon or the palm of your hand.

7. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges/bottoms start to deeply brown.

8. Let cook for a few minutes before removing to cooling racks to finish cooling.

Special Blueberry Banana Bread

This banana bread was one of the two desserts I made for Mother's Day. I found it at Gluten Free Vegan Girl. My mom loved it and my sister and I agreed that it would be great for breakfast. Of course, the only one I shared the secret ingredient with was my mom. I have used tofu in vegan frosting before and it really does make for a nice texture (you can't taste it - promise). This bread is vegan, gluten-free and has no added sugar - the sweetness comes from the bananas and blueberries, but it's only mildly sweet. I doubled recipe (per below) and I think that was the perfect amount for a loaf pan and it still cut and served easily.

Special Blueberry Banana Bread

How I Did It:

4 ripe bananas

300 grams silken tofu

2 cups of rolled oats

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a bread pan with canola oil.

2. With a potato masher, mash together the bananas and tofu in a bowl.

3. In a food processor, grind the oats into oat flour. Pour into the banana/tofu mix along with the baking powder. Stir to combine.

4. Pour into prepared bread pan and spread out evenly. One at a time, push blueberries into the batter.

5. Bake for about an hour or until it doesn't jiggle when you shake the pan and it is cooked through (will remain very moist).

6. Store covered and refrigerated. 

Navy Bean Peanut Butter Bars

All that tempting gooey chocolate and peanut butter.

Sometimes you want a warm and gooey dessert that won't make you feel gross after though, right?

Okay, desserts don't usually make me feel gross regardless, but it's still nice to have healthier options. These bars are really tasty, but have no flour, refined sugar, oil/butter, or eggs! Plus, look at all that protein and fiber! They are good warm or cold. To make them vegan, just use all maple syrup.

Peanut Butter Bars 
How I Did It:

1 can Navy Beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup peanut butter 1 tbsp + 2 tsp honey
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease an 8x8" baking pan.

2. Add all ingredients (except the chocolate chips)to a food processor and process until combined and smooth.

3. Pour into a bowl and mix in chocolate chips.

4. Pour into prepared baking pan and spread out evenly. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges start to firm up and the center looks just set. It's better to slightly under cook than to over cook.

5. Let cool completely before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Coconut Delight Bars

If you like coconut, you will love these coconut bars. I found them at Chocolate Covered Katie awhile back and I recently made them to the delight of my family. I don't really like the taste of agave on its own, but it works well in here. I think anything else would be too sweet and noticeable. The other good thing about using agave is that it makes these bars friendly to some people who can't handle most other sweeteners (sugar, honey, maple syrup). So easy to make and so easy to eat! If you want, after freezing them, you could dunk them in melted dark chocolate and then freeze them again. I say that because I always have chocolate on the brain, but to be honest, these really don't need it. They are perfect as is.

Coconut Delight Bars
How I Did It:

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup agave
2 tbsp coconut oil
3/4 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until well-combined. This will only take ten seconds or so.

2. Pour into the bottom on a loaf pan and press down evenly.

3. Cover and place in the freezer for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Gluten Free Brownie Bites

Ever since I was a kid and would help my mom make brownies for the local soup kitchen, I have known I love brownies. Cake-like brownies are okay, but give me a gooey fudgy brownie and I'll...well, ask for another. Sadly, not everyone can eat brownies and for my friend who cannot eat gluten I made these brownies using almond meal. It was harder to make them super-fudgy, but they are moist, chewy, and dense and very inviting. I would say they have a subtle almond flavor and it would be very hard to eat just one.

Gluten Free Brownie Bites
How I Did It:

(makes 15 brownie bites)

1 cup almond meal
3/4 cup powdered sugar
4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/16 tsp salt
1/3 cup egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
6 tsp melted butter, slightly cooled

1. Preheat oven to 400. Grease a mini muffin tin and set aside.

2. Whisk together almond meal, powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt until well combined.

3. Stir in egg whites and vanilla.

4. Stir in butter in three parts. Stir a few times with each addition, and with the last addition stir until fully combined and smooth.

5. Fill mini muffin tins almost to the top with batter. Fill any empty tins under halfway with water.

6. Bake for about 10 minutes or until brownies puff up and spring back when lightly touched. Do not overcook or they will be dry. Remove from oven and let cool.

Banana Berry Smoothie

What's better than a cold fresh fruit smoothie on a really hot day...or even on an unseasonably warm fall day? I have been playing with different variations and right now this is my favorite. It's so easy - there's really no excuse not to make it. Sometimes I put it right into a glass and sometimes I put it in a bowl and stick it in the freezer for a bit and pretend it's ice cream. Either way, it's delightful and satisfying to the point that I don't even care that I'm not eating dairy or chocolate. Yeah, I said it. If you are craving chocolate, try this banana chocolate ice cream.

Banana Berry Smoothie
How I Did It:

1 frozen banana
7 frozen strawberries
1/8 cup frozen blueberries
2 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp ground flax seeds (optional)

1.  Break up frozen banana into a few chunk and grind up in the food processor. Add in strawberries and blueberries.

2.  Once the fruit is all finely chopped up, add in milk of choice, vanilla, and flax seeds and process until well combined and smooth.

3. Enjoy!

Banana Almond Whoopie Pies

If you can't tell from the picture, these aren't your traditional, sugar and fat filled whoopie pies.  I saw very tasty looking banana chocolate chunk cookies over at Spoonful of Sugar Free and I knew I would have to make some version of them for my mom's belated birthday celebration. We were planning on celebrate via some sort of outdoor picnic during our mini vacation so cake of any sort wouldn't make it unfortunately. Well, once we all tried them all thoughts of "mom friendly" cake vanished!

I made a few changes to cater to my family's taste and food sensitives and they turned out great! Just sweet enough and the almond flavored center with the banana was perfect! These could easily be part of your breakfast or a great midday pick-you-up snack!  I left some without the filling and they are great like that as well. As an extra bonus the batter is quite tasty uncooked and of course perfectly safe to eat!

Sunning itself before being consumed during the birthday picnic

Banana Almond Whoopie Pies
How I Did it:

Cookies:
(makes one dozen single layer cookies)
2 cups oats
2 very ripe bananas
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup chopped dates
1/8 cup raisins

Filling:
1 cup almond butter
2 tbs almond milk
1 1/4 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2. Grind oats in a food processor until they become flour-like. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher. Mix in vanilla and salt.

4. Add in oat flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until well combined. Stir in water.

5. Add in dates and raisins and mix to distribute evenly.

6. Place heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheets. It won't change size/shape too much so depending on your preference you can make them flatter or more fluffy as you are putting them on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes - they will turn light brown and you will be able to pluck them right off the sheet. Let fully cool.

7. While your cookies are cooling, make the filling. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and beat well. Cover and place in the refrigerator (to firm up) until cookies are completely cool.

8. Once the cookies are fully cooled, try to pair up by size so each are matched with a cookie whose bottom is similar in size. Generously spread the filling on the flat bottom one of the matched cookies, allowing it to pile up more in the middle. Take it's partner and slightly press down to secure it on top. Repeat for the rest of the cookies. Store in a container in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature for best test before eating.

Chocolate Chip Blondies with a Secret

These are so gooey and delicious you would never know they are not only vegan, but gluten-free as well! They have a secret ingredient that if you didn't know about you'd never guess! Garbanzo beans! No, don't walk away - they are really good, trust me! I can't take credit for them though...I found the recipe over at Chocolate Covered Katie. If you are at all into alternative healthier desserts you should really check out her blog, if you haven't already. 

I made these last minute to bring to share with the girls in the apartment upstairs. I told them they were vegan (my roommate is vegan) and they both seemed to really like them. I mentioned that there was no flour in them and of course they wanted to know what the base was. I waited until they had each had one and I told them. The response? "Well, in that case..." reaching for another one! I personally think that you can taste the beans if you know they are there, but honestly not in a bad way. I added more peanut butter, sugar, chocolate and vanilla to try to help mask it a bit more. Oh, and did I mention how easy they are? Definitely going to make this one again!

Chocolate Chip Blondies with a Secret
How I did it:

1 can (15 oz) Garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup brown sugar (can use less if you are used to non-traditional desserts)
3 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips (use diary-free if you are making this vegan)

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and 8" square pan (9" works as well). Set aside.

2. Place all ingredients (except the chocolate chips) into a food processor and blend until well combined and smooth. If your food processor is not large enough, split ingredients roughly in half and blend twice. You can then combine the two well-blended mixtures together by hand in a bowl.

3. Mix in chocolate chips (setting a couple handfuls aside) and pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining chips on top and lightly press down. 

4. Cook for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting. If you are in a rush put them in the fridge for a bit to harden up - if you try to cut them when they are still warm you will make mess! Store any not eaten that day in the fridge. 

Healthy Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Happy Mother's Day!

Although I love sugar and chocolate filled desserts, my mom has many food limitations and I wanted her to be able to enjoy dessert on her big day. I scoured my brain and several different blogs until I came up with something she could eat and we could all enjoy! I got the idea for the recipe over at Chocolate Covered Katie and made a few alternations to suit my needs.

If I tell you these cookies are not only diary and egg free, but also sugar-free and gluten-free and low in fat you might ask me how good they taste. Fair enough. As a lover of "normal" dessert I can tell you they are pretty darn good. With that said, they don't taste like oatmeal cookies at all - they are tasty in their own healthier way. I added chocolate chips to a portion of them (in addition to the raisins) b/c I was worried about the dirty looks I might get from my family when I brought these as the only dessert. As it turned out I was worried for nothing as everyone said they were great and my great uncle must have had at least...well, more than two.

Healthy Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
How I did it:

(makes about 20 - 25)

1 1/8 cup rolled oats
 8 dates, chopped
1 cup unsweetened natural applesauce
1/2 heaping cup almond butter
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
6 tbsp baking raisins (or raisins pre-soaked in juice)
3 tbsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, stir almond butter and apple sauce until well combined. Set aside.

3. Combine 1/2 cup of the oats and the dates in a food processor until they become a powder. Add this mixture into the applesauce/almond butter mixture and then add the rest of the ingredients, except the chocolate. I separated out half of the batter and mixed the chocolate into the remainder.

3. Shape into small balls ("dough" will be very sticky) and bake for about 15 minutes or until they are firm and start to brown a bit. Note: They will not change shape. If you can't wait feel free to enjoy the batter uncooked!